


Apples to Apples

by emiv



Category: Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Alternate Point of View, Canon Compliant, Gen, Missing Scene, Parallels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-20
Updated: 2013-09-20
Packaged: 2017-12-27 03:52:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/973995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emiv/pseuds/emiv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He needs a reason to trust her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Apples to Apples

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](http://archiveofourown.org/comments/3018646) comment from [nogood4me](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nogood4me/pseuds/nogood4me).

Once back in Gotham, it doesn’t take Bruce long to track her down. He follows undetected as she makes her way through the twisted wreckage of Old Town.

From a distance, he watches Selina Kyle and waits. Caution keeps him from engaging; doubt keeps him to the shadows. Bruce wants to trust her, but he needs a reason. He can’t afford to be careless.

Not again.

He’s long forgiven her, but forgiveness is not trust.

 _She’s clever,_ Bruce thinks, watching her sharp eyes take in every bit of rubble, every stranger passed on the street. _She’ll know things. She’ll have information on Bane. She’ll know how to find Fox._

It’s not enough.

 _She owes me,_ he tells himself. It may be the truth, but Bruce catches the swagger in her step as she navigates uneven sidewalks, the smirk on her lips. This isn’t a woman with a guilt complex.

And Bruce isn’t one to call in favors.

A sharp wind rushes between the buildings; he buries his hands in his pockets against the chill. His fingers wrap around the flash drive. It’s his angle. His bribe.

Her freedom.

He’ll buy her help, but that isn’t trust, either.

He stays back, keeps her in his sights.

He hears the scuffle a second before she does, sees the boy being chased and cornered. Trapped. Bruce curbs his instinct to intervene, stays back and watches.

He watches her. She watches them.

Within seconds, she’s there—defending the boy, roughing up the thugs, bantering while she does it. Hidden in the shadow of an overpass, Bruce smiles.

 _She’s good._ A good fighter, resilient. Quick. But he already knew that. That’s not what he’s looking for.

That’s not what he’s waiting for.

The fight over, Bruce watches her take a bite of the apple before tossing it to the boy. His mind flashes back to another boy, another stolen piece of fruit.

He steps forward.

“Pretty generous,” he says. “For a thief.”


End file.
